Day 1316

Sometimes dealing with tech support is like Chinese water torture. I found myself locked out of my voicemail this morning and ended up spending hours talking to three different levels of tech support. When one technician couldn't solve my problem, they would escalate my call to the next level. I don't know why turning on my voicemail account again was so complicated, but it apparently was. At one point I was talking to one person on my cell phone, another person on the land line and had to put both phones on speakerphone and set them next to each other so the technicians could hear each other. Most of these folks spoke English as a second language, so I was constantly saying "Could you repeat that please." I did manage to talk to one native English speaker, but he had a terrible stutter, so I couldn't understand him either.

When the problem was eventually resolved, I listened to my new voicemail messages and they were all from telemarketers. Jeez! Why did I spend hours trying to listen to messages I didn't want to receive in the first place? On days like this technology hardly seems worth the effort. Everything seems to work for the moment though, so if an important call comes in tomorrow, I'm right on top of it.

While Dash was getting his antigen shot today, I talked to the vet about alternatives to Phenobarbital in case his seizures returned. She mentioned that she had success using Potassium Bromide and thought it was safer than Phenobarbital. I looked up the drug on the Internet when we got home and discovered that possible side effects include ataxia, increased urination, skin disorders, nausea and vomiting. Doesn't sound very safe to me. Potassium Bromide won't damage the liver like Phenobarbital though. Of course, the alternative I like best is not to put Dash on any drugs at all.

I routinely experience the same frustrations with my own meds. The devil is always in the details. I've been wondering why I've had this strong metallic taste in my mouth for the past several months. A quick Internet search revealed that the metallic taste was probably caused by the Metformin I take to control blood sugar levels. I have a feeling that my doctor didn't mention the metallic aftertaste because he was afraid I wouldn't take the drug if I knew about this common side effect.

After making a trip to the post office to pay some bills, I stopped by Home Depot to get some wasp spray to combat the growing number of wasps and hornets building nests near the house. After I got out my reading glasses and read the warning label on the side of the can, I took the spray back and exchanged it for a much milder organic product. It was amazing to me than anyone would even sell a product with so many potentially toxic side effects. I guess a bug spray that will kill a snake is too strong for normal use.

Getting to the gym several times a week is proving to be harder than I thought it would be. I only made it once last week and it looks like this week will be just as busy. Tomorrow Dot starts her water therapy and Thursday is when the garbage disposal gets repaired. Throw in an article or two each day, along with the usual website revisions and a dog walk and my day is gone. Maybe I can find some free time on Friday.

Jewel is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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